Town of Plaistow Board of Selectmen v. Town of Plaistow Zoning Board of Adjustment

Summary

The New Hampshire Supreme Court considered an appeal involving a variance for a used-car dealership and the Town of Plaistow Board of Selectmen's request for rehearing. The court held that the town manager was authorized to submit the rehearing request and that incorporation of the planning board's memorandum satisfied the statutory requirements for stating the grounds for rehearing. Because the trial court applied an outdated definition of unnecessary hardship, the court vacated and remanded for further proceedings under the standard articulated in Simplex Technologies v. Town of Newington.

Holdings

1. A town manager may request a zoning rehearing on behalf of the selectmen when acting with the authorization and direction of a majority of the selectmen; a formal vote before expiration of the statutory period is not required.
2. Incorporating and attaching the planning board's memorandum, which identified specific grounds for rehearing, satisfied RSA 677:3.
3. The superior court's variance ruling had to be reconsidered under the newer three-part unnecessary-hardship standard announced in Simplex Technologies v. Town of Newington.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the town manager was authorized to request a rehearing on behalf of the Board of Selectmen without a formal vote taken before the twenty-day period expired.
2. Whether the rehearing request satisfied RSA 677:3 by incorporating and attaching the planning board's memorandum identifying the grounds for rehearing.
3. Whether the superior court properly applied the unnecessary-hardship standard when it relied on Taylor's operation of a tire-sale business and the availability of other commercial uses.

Disposition

vacated